Current affairs josh

 *Financial News Bulletin Dt.21st December,2023*

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its December bulletin, highlighted a concerning trend, stating that the real-time inflation is adversely impacting discretionary consumer spending. This, in turn, is impeding the overall growth of manufacturing companies, including their capital expenditure, it said.

-Economic Times

Vietnam, an Island country in Southeast Asia, has emerged as one of the top tourist destinations in recent times, with many more Indian tourists choosing this nation over Goa - which is known for its pristine beaches and nightlife. A fund manager, Viraj Mehta, on Tuesday explained this new trend of travellers heading to the South East Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia instead of visiting Goa.

-Business Today

India has so far detected 21 cases of Covid sub-variant JN.1 in three states - Goa, Kerala, and Maharashtra, India Today reported on Wednesday. While Goa has reported 19 cases of JN.1, one each has been detected in Kerala and Maha rashtra.The JN.1 variant is driving Covid cases in some countries like Singapore. It has become one of the fastest-spreading viruses in the last few weeks.

-Business Today

Mumbai-based businessman Harihara Mahapatra and his wife Preeti have announced a substantial investment of Rs 1,100 crore in cash-strapped SpiceJet. In an exchange filing on Tuesday, the airline said Harihara Mahapatra and Preeti Mahapatra, who are promoters of the Mumbai-based group Mahapatra Universal Limited, will jointly hold 21.98 per cent (1.99 per cent and 19.99 per cent, respectively,) stake in the airline.

-Business Today

Sensex slumps 931 points: Rs 9.1 lakh crore investor wealth lost;The 30-pack Sensex was down 931 points or 1.30 per cent to settle at 70,506. The NSE benchmark moved 303 points or 1.41 per cent down to close at 21,150.

-Business Today

The softer inflation prints for September and October 2023 and the prolonged pause in the stance of monetary policy has engendered a certain hypermetropia among some stakeholders, according to RBI’s latest monthly bulletin.This is leading to an irrational long-sightedness whereby inflation forecasts gravitating towards the 4 per cent target sometime in the distant future are sighted clearly whereas high near-term risks of spikes in inflation outcomes on the back of food volatility are blurred, said senior RBI officials in an article “State of the Economy”.

-Business Line

Ford Motor Co that announced its exit from India in September 2021 has reportedly abandoned its plans to sell its Tamil Nadu plant, its sole factory site in the country. This move comes after Ford finalised a deal with Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group recently, fuelling speculations that the US automakers might be considering re-entering the Indian market.

-Business Today

The U.S. dollar slipped against most major currencies on Wednesday as traders continued to sell the currency on bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon begin cutting interest rates, ahead of inflation data later this week.The exception was the yen, against which the dollar held firm after the Bank of Japan was mum on an end to its ultra-loose monetary policy the previous day.

-Business Today

WHO classifies JN.1 as 'variant of interest' as Covid cases surge. JN.1 is driving new COVID cases in some countries like Singapore. Last week, Singapore recorded a sharp jump in Covid cases to 56,043 in the first week of December 2023.

-Business Today

Since the last two years, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Gujarat have remained subdued, despite the state topping the FDI charts in 2020–21.

-Business Line

Ten states, including Tamil Nadu and Telangana, have withdrawn general consent to the CBI to investigate cases in their respective jurisdictions, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Punjab, Jharkhand, Kerala, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Mizoram, Telangana, Meghalaya, and Tamil Nadu have withdrawn the general consent, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply.

-Economic Times

A newly identified COVID-19 subvariant, JN.1, detected in Kerala this month, has sparked concerns over a potential surge in cases amid the approaching holiday season. India recorded 260 fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing active cases to 1,828, according to the Union Health Ministry’s December 18 report. One person dies of COVID-19 in Bengaluru.

-Financial Express

Centre proposes to decriminalise medical negligence in amended criminal law bill. Currently, if there is a death due to negligence of a doctor, it is also treated as criminal negligence, almost akin to murder. Death of patients under a doctor’s care is classified as criminal negligence under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code. It says that whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act shall be punished with imprison ment for up to two years, or with a fine, or with both.

-Money Control

S&P BSE Sensex    70506.31

NIFTY 50                  21150.15

NIFTY Bank             47445.30

BSE Bankex             53557.03

USD/INR                          83.20